


A Sneaky Summer

by MirrorMystic



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5
Genre: Comedy, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Idiots in Inaba AU, M/M, Multi, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 17:47:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20029831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirrorMystic/pseuds/MirrorMystic
Summary: Our favorite foursome is on an unexpected summer stealth mission-- to track down the mysterious gray-haired stranger that shook up the sleepy little city of Inaba years ago and accidentally became Akira's middle-school hero.(Hijinks ensue.)





	A Sneaky Summer

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Wulff20ko for the privilege of writing my faves after so long. This was a real treat to write, and I can only hope it's just as fun to read. I hope you all enjoy! ^^
> 
> Do you have stories to be told, but need some help telling them? Send me an e-mail at nathaneraya@yahoo.com!

~*~  
  
The sun was high in the sky over the Samegawa River, and heat haze filled the air. The sun was shining. The birds were singing. In a few hours, the cicadas would start buzzing. It was absolutely--  
  
“--hot as _ fuck _ !” Ryuji groaned.  
  
“Language…” Shiho murmured beside him. Ann, curled up beside her, leaned up and pressed a drowsy kiss to Shiho’s cheek.  
  
“We’re glad you and Ann could make the trip out,” Akira said, gazing up at the cloudless sky and the relentless heat. “Sorry you had to come during the hottest part of the year.”  
  
“Ugh, I’m melting…” Shiho groaned. Ann experimentally held a hand just above Shiho’s long, dark hair. Heat emanated from her hair like a parking lot in the sun.  
  
“Take off your sweater, then,” Ann said.  
  
“Aww,” Shiho pouted, “but it’s my _ favorite _ .”  
  
Ann glanced at the lucky four-leaf-clover on the hem of Shiho’s sweater and grinned. “Yeah, well, you’re gonna get grass stains over my nice, white hoodie, so take it off.”  
  
“Man,” Ryuji muttered, swiping an arm across his brow, “there isn’t much to do out in the country, is there? Just lay on a riverbank and broil in the sun.”  
  
“It’s not that much cooler indoors, believe me,” Akira said.  
  
“RIP Morgana,” Ann shrugged, curling the end of a twintail around her finger.  
  
“Besides,” Akira continued, “I _ told _ you there wasn’t much in my hometown. You and Ann decided to come here, anyway.”  
  
“Yeah, I wonder why,” Ryuji grinned. He reached over and mussed Akira’s hair.  
  
The quartet settled in together on the riverbank, two introverted brunettes and their loud, hot blondes from the big city. Blazing heat aside, it was actually a pretty idyllic afternoon, full of peace and quiet. At least, until…  
  
“Oh! Oh, oh, oh!” Shiho flailed, slapping Ann on the arm.  
  
“What, Shiho? What?”  
  
“Look!”  
  
The group sat up and all looked where Shiho was pointing. A fluffy gray cat wandered down the hillside to the footpath up against the water. It sat on its haunches, studying the group with its big yellow eyes.  
  
The quartet held their breath.  
  
Then the cat flopped onto its side and exposed its belly.  
  
“Oh!!!” the group squealed.  
  
“Oh, look at him!” Ann cooed. “I wanna touch him. Can I touch him?”  
  
“Don’t touch him!” Ryuji argued. “You might get, I dunno, tetanus or something.”  
  
“Oh, this poor guy must be burning up, all that fluff…” Shiho mused.  
  
“Man, we’ve been seeing cats _ everywhere _ since we arrived,” Ryuji said.  
  
“Yeah, this town’s full of strays,” Akira explained. He nodded to the cat curled up on the grass ahead of them. “...Y’know, this little gray guy reminds me of this guy I knew back in middle school.”  
  
“What is he, your boyfriend?” Ryuji teased.  
  
Akira rolled his eyes. “He was, like, in high school at the time.”  
  
“Wow, Akira, I didn’t know you liked older men,” Ann teased.  
  
“Shut up,” Akira said flatly. “Anyway. I met this guy a couple years back, when I was just hanging out on the riverbank. He always came by to fish, or feed the strays. We talked, once or twice. But then he got this reputation for being, like, Inaba’s problem solver. Everybody started raving about this guy, and, I dunno. I really looked up to him.”  
  
“You make him sound like some kind of folk hero,” Shiho mused.  
  
“He kinda was,” Akira frowned, squinting. “...Actually… I think that’s him right there.”  
  
Just down the riverbank, there was a young man. The quartet watched, intrigued, as the gray cat from before rolled over, got up on its little legs, and waddled on over. It sat on its haunches at the man’s feet and meowed expectantly. The man merely smiled, unhooked his latest catch and set it down for the cat to eat.  
  
For a civilian doing some basic shore fishing, he seemed remarkably overdressed. Ann squinted, trying to make out the gaudy logo on his vest.  
  
“‘Explosive… Fishing?’” Ann wondered. “This guy must be for real.”  
  
“Nah, that’s overpriced junk,” Akira said. “He probably got it from this shady mail-order show that plays on weekends.”  
  
“Would you say he got reeled in?” Shiho asked. Akira held up his hand and gave her a high five.  
  
“Dude, who do you know who knows _ anything _ about fishing?” Ryuji asked.  
  
“Uh. Ms. Kawakami.”  
  
“What? Are you for real?”  
  
After leaving the cat to its meal, the gray-haired stranger packed up his things and started making his way back up the riverbank.  
  
“Hey, hey, he’s moving,” Ann observed.  
  
Akira nodded. His lips curled into a smirk.  
  
“...Let’s follow him.”  
  
_ “What?!” _  
  
~*~  
  
Akira peeked around the corner. Before him was the squat storefront of Marukyu Tofu, modest if not for the posters of Risette lining the windows from floor to ceiling. Akira frowned, furrowing his brows.  
  
“...For a tofu shop, they sure do love Risette…” Akira muttered.  
  
“It looks just like Ryuji’s bedroom,” Shiho chimed in.  
  
Akira snorted. “Don’t. He’ll kill you…”  
  
Bells chimed above the door, and Akira darted back into the alley. The gray-haired stranger stepped out, gave a warm goodbye to the store owners, and then started making his way further up Inaba’s central shopping district.  
  
Akira watched him until he was out of earshot.  
  
“...Alright,” he exhaled. “Shiho, how are you doing?”  
  
Shiho smiled. “Well… I think we lost Ann and Ryuji.”  
  
While Shiho and Akira were busy hiding in alleyways, Ann and Ryuji were walking around in broad daylight. They came wandering back to where Akira was waiting for them, tapping his foot, oblivious to his exasperation.  
  
“Dude! They’ve got a diner here that I’ve heard does a fantastic bowl of ramen…”  
  
“Hey! They’ve got a bookstore here that I bet Mako and Fumi would love!”  
  
“Guys!” Akira all-but-whined. “This is supposed to be a sneaking mission.”  
  
“Okay, Snake,” Shiho teased.  
  
Akira rolled his eyes. “Come on, gang. Status check. How are we all feeling? Ryuji?”  
  
“Uh. Hungry.”  
  
“Ann?”  
  
“I’m also kinda hungry.”  
  
“Shiho?”  
  
“This is silly,” Shiho giggled. “Why don’t we just go up and _ talk _ to him?”  
  
“Because, Shiho,” Akira replied, “I want to see this guy’s true self. Not the part of him that’s posing for the cameras.”  
  
“Okay, Mr. Phantom Thief,” Shiho giggled.  
  
“Look,” Ann said, pointing. “He just went into that shop up there.”  
  
The group started moving up the block, stopping in an alleyway beside Daidara Metalworks. While Akira and Ann spied on the storefront up the street, Ryuji paused to admire a window display-- a _ daisho _ mounted on a wooden stand, a matched set of katana and wakizashi. Ryuji whistled, long and low.  
  
“Oh man,” Ryuji muttered, impressed. “That’s the real deal. Yusuke would love this shit.”  
  
“Wow,” Shiho murmured. “I wonder what else they make? Do you think they could make--”  
  
“--a weapon to surpass Metal Gear?!” they finished together. Ryuji and Shiho threw their arms around each other, cackling like hyenas.  
  
“Oh my god,” Ann groaned, pawing at her face. “I’m in love with these morons.”  
  
“Don’t worry,” Akira said flatly. “I’m stuck with ‘em, too.”  
  
Up the street, the gray-haired stranger stepped out of Tatsumi Textiles, a translucent garment bag draped over his arm. He was talking to another young man-- a bleach-blond punk who was bashfully scratching the back of his head. The duo exchanged fistbumps, before the gray-haired stranger turned and went on his way.  
  
Ann gasped, a hand over her mouth.  
  
“There was a yukata in that bag!” Ann cried. “It was gorgeous, too! Did that big guy make it? He’s gotta be, like, security or something, right?”  
  
“Shh!” Akira hissed.  
  
The gray-haired stranger stopped at the shrine to make a quick offering, before making his way further up the street. Akira ushered the group forward, ducking down behind the arch of the shrine. A single red fox with a ceremonial bib sat on the shrine steps, watching them warily. Half a dozen younger foxes wandered right up to them and started brushing against their legs, heedless.  
  
“Aww! Hey little guys!” Ryuji grinned. “Man, what’s with all the foxes?”  
  
“It _ is _ a shrine to Inari,” Akira shrugged.  
  
“Look,” Shiho pointed. “There he is now.”  
  
The gray-haired stranger didn’t enter Konishi Liquors. But he did stop to chat with one of the employees-- a reedy young man with slicked-back blond hair. Akira furrowed his brow, pensive.  
  
He felt someone clap him on the arm. “Yo. Akira.”  
  
“What’s up, Ryuji?”  
  
“You want anything from the yakiniku stand?”  
  
“The steak croquettes are great, but they sell out pretty quick,” Akira said. He made a face. “I mean, no, I don’t want anything from the yakiniku stand! We’re tailing someone right now!”  
  
“Okay, well, where is he?”  
  
“What?” Akira gasped. He whirled around, and saw the door to Konishi Liquors swing shut. He scurried up the block, peeked inside the store, and then scanned the neighboring streets. The gray-haired stranger was nowhere to be found.  
  
“Fuck,” he hissed.  
  
Akira hurried down the next block, stopping outside a public playground, scanning the streets for his quarry. No luck. He sighed in frustration, sinking down into a park bench. Ann, Ryuji, and Shiho came up and joined him, munching on steak skewers.  
  
“We lost him,” Akira shook his head. “Damn it.”  
  
Shiho silently offered him a skewer. Akira took it, and glumly took a bite.  
  
“Maybe we should give it up, man,” Ryuji said. “I mean, so far, all we’ve seen this guy do is buy his groceries, pick up his dry cleaning, and pray.”  
  
Akira blew out a sigh. “I’m sorry. I know I’m being kinda crazy about this. But you gotta understand, this guy only showed up for a year and he practically turned this town upside down. He made a hell of an impression on middle school me.”  
  
He gestured to the park beside them.  
  
“Here, right here, he volunteered for this summer camp or something, dressed up like the Junes mascot and made himself a ragdoll for a horde of kids. Like, who does that if not a guy with a heart of gold?”  
  
“Wait, Junes doesn’t have a mascot,” Ann cut in.  
  
“He was dressed up like The Bear,” Akira insisted.  
  
“Dude, the bear mascot doesn’t exist--”  
  
“The Bear exists!!!” Akira and Shiho cried together. Akira slumped in his seat, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
  
“Alright, where do we go from here…” Akira grumbled. “Okay. Status update. How are you all doing? Ryuji?”  
  
“Uh. Hungry.”  
  
“Ann?”  
  
“...Yeah, I’m still hungry.”  
  
“Shiho?”  
  
“...I’m sorry, what was the question?”  
  
Akira buried his face in his hands with the weariest fondness. He was in love with these morons.  
  
“...Do you guys want to go to that diner?”  
  
~*~  
  
“Order up,” announced their deadpan waitress. “One ramen/pork bowl combo.”  
  
“That’s me!” Shiho chirped.  
  
“One sweet red bean soup…”  
  
“Ooh! That’s me!” Ann grinned.  
  
“And two extra-large beef bowls, extra ginger,” she drawled.  
  
“Yeah, that’s us!” Ryuji said, clapping Akira on the back.  
  
She set their bowls down in front of them, her bored expression never leaving her face.  
  
“Please enjoy your meal here at--”  
  
“Aiyaaaaaaaaaaa!!!” the chef yelped in the distance.  
  
She shrugged, and nodded to the kitchen. “...What he said.”  
  
“Thanks, Aika,” Akira said. Aika nodded curtly, and slipped away.  
  
“Ohhhh here we go!” Ann cried. She clapped her hands together, grinning. “Let’s eat!”  
  
Ann plunged her spoon into her red bean soup, a cool, sweet treat for a boiling summer day.  
  
Shiho slapped her hand and Ann squeaked, indignant.  
  
“Why don’t you eat some real food before you have dessert?” Shiho chided, sliding her pork bowl across the table.  
  
Ann pouted. She begrudgingly tucked into some rice and roast pork-- but not before licking her spoon.  
  
Beside her, Ryuji was tucking into his food with gusto. But Akira didn’t quite share his enthusiasm. He picked at his food, thoughtfully gazing out the window. Of course, Shiho was sitting between him and the window, so it just looked like he was wistfully looking at her.  
  
Shiho reached up and flicked Akira in the forehead.  
  
“Don’t fall in love with me,” she teased.  
  
Akira rolled his eyes. “No promises.”  
  
“Dude, you okay?” Ryuji asked. “You’re barely touching your food.”  
  
“I _ told _ you I wasn’t that hungry,” Akira said. “Then you went and got me an extra large, like an ass.”  
  
“Whatever, dude,” Ryuji shrugged. “Hell, if you don’t want it, I’ll have it.”  
  
“If you were this hungry, it’s a shame we didn’t come when it was raining,” Akira said. “They have this special Mega Beef Bowl for like 3000 yen.”  
  
“What am I, made of money?”  
  
“Well, it’s free if you manage to finish it all in 30 minutes,” Akira said. “Plus you get your… photo on the wall…”  
  
Ann raised an eyebrow. “You okay?”  
  
“One sec,” Akira said.  
  
Akira got up and made his way over to the wall of photos commemorating the victors of Aiya Diner’s Rainy Day Challenge. After scanning down the rows, he finally found him-- a gray-haired stranger in the uniform of Yasogami High.  
  
“Hey, Aika?” Akira called, waving her over.  
  
“Yes?” she said flatly.  
  
Akira tapped the photo. “What can you tell me about this guy right here?”  
  
“What’s there to say about him?” Aika shrugged. “The guy can eat a lot of meat.”  
  
“Anything else, though?”  
  
“I mean, I don’t see him every day,” Aika said. “But when he’s in town, I think he hangs out at Junes. He’s real chummy with the assistant store manager there. They usually come by here after he’s done with the day shift. But it’s still pretty early, if you’re looking to catch him.”  
  
“I see…” Akira nodded, his smile turning into a dangerous grin.  
  
“Anything else?” Aika asked, deadpan as always.  
  
“Yeah,” Akira said. “Check, please.”  
  
~*~  
  
Soon enough, the quartet was camped out in the food court on the roof of Junes department store, huddled in the shade of a table umbrella. Their quarry was at the other end of the court, returning to his table with a tray of food and two sodas. His friend, a redhead with headphones around his neck, balled up his apron and tossed it aside.  
  
Akira watched them carefully, peering above the rim of a sushi takeout menu. In his peripheral vision, he saw someone lean up against him and raise their arm over their head.  
  
“Ann,” he said levelly, “are you taking selfies when we’re supposed to be in stealth mode?”  
  
“Oh, shut up and smile,” Ann grinned.  
  
Akira sighed and raised a deadpan peace sign. Like always, his glasses caught the flash and blocked out his eyes.  
  
Ryuji and Shiho returned to their table, Ryuji with a tray of food and Shiho with an armful of sodas.  
  
“Alright!” Ryuji grinned. “Who wants some takoyaki?”  
  
“ _ How _ are you still hungry?” Akira wondered.  
  
“Hey man, do _ you _ wanna be the guy who hangs out at a place all day without buying anything and then doesn’t clean up after themselves afterwards? ‘Cuz _ I _ don’t wanna be that guy.”  
  
“Point…” Akira shrugged. He poked a piece of takoyaki with a toothpick and popped it in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.  
  
“Man, why did they have to hang out up here on the roof when there’s perfectly good air conditioning downstairs?” Ann whined.  
  
“Yeah…” Ryuji murmured, his mouth full. He grinned, playful. “You know, it’s funny. We’ve been up and down this whole store the past hour or two, and you know what? We haven’t seen this so-called ‘bear mascot’ anywhere!”  
  
Shiho punched Ryuji in the arm.  
  
“Ow!” Ryuji hissed. Shiho kept swiping at him like a grumpy cat. “Shiho! Hey! Hey!”  
  
“Kick his ass, babe!” Ann called.  
  
“You don’t believe in the bear mascot either!” Ryuji cried, indignant.  
  
“Guys. Guys!” Akira hissed.  
  
Shiho abruptly stopped her flailing, nodding across the food court. “Oh! They’re moving. They’re moving!”  
  
They watched as the gray-haired stranger and his partner finished their meal, put their tray away, and pulled each other into a bro hug before going their separate ways.  
  
Akira grinned. They were back on the trail.  
  
~*~  
  
Before they knew it, they were walking the winding streets of Inaba’s suburbs, surrounded by houses on hills and chest-high stone walls.  
  
“What are the odds?” Akira murmured to himself. “Shiho. This isn’t too far away from your place. Or my mom’s apartment.”  
  
“Akira, I don’t know about this,” Shiho said. “Going cryptid hunting for the Junes bear mascot is one thing, but we’re following this guy back to his house…”  
  
“Yeah, man,” Ryuji urged. “Like, what’s next? We doxx the guy?”  
  
“We’re not gonna doxx him,” Akira insisted. “I just want to see what makes this guy tick…”  
  
They huddled together, just across the street from the gray-haired stranger. He clicked his key in, and opened the door.  
  
In an instant, a girl came running out of the house and wrapped him in a hug.  
  
The group gasped.  
  
“Ugh!” Ann huffed, affronted. “Oh, she is too young for him!”  
  
“Hold on. Maybe she’s just short, like Mako,” Ryuji said. “...Don’t tell her I said that.”  
  
“Relax,” Akira said. “Maybe she’s his sister.”  
  
“Or his daughter,” Shiho chimed in.  
  
“What?!” the others hissed.  
  
_ “Excuse me.” _  
  
A stern voice sounded behind them, and the quartet froze in their tracks.  
  
A moment later, the four of them were lined up on the sidewalk outside the Dojima residence, staring down at their feet in shame.  
  
“Alright,” Officer Ryotaro Dojima sighed, his jacket slung over his shoulder. “Do you kids wanna give me an explanation for why you were snooping around on private property?”  
  
“Uncle?” the gray-haired stranger approached, his arm around the girl’s shoulders. “Is something wrong?”  
  
Akira cringed. Just his luck-- busted on their quarry’s doorstep by a police officer who wasn’t even on the clock. His middle school idol, Inaba’s problem solver, the guy who partly inspired him to stand up to an angry drunk and damn the consequences… and his uncle was a cop all along.  
  
What were the odds?  
  
“Yu,” Dojima said, nodding to the group. “Are these guys friends of yours?”  
  
Yu walked up to Akira and fixed him with an intent gaze. Akira lifted his head to meet his eyes. His glasses caught the setting sun.  
  
Yu paused. For a moment, just a moment, the light glinting off of Akira’s glasses looked like a butterfly.  
  
“You look familiar…” Yu muttered. “Are you…”  
  
Yu blinked.  
  
“Are you guys Phantom Thieves?”  
  
Akira’s breath caught in his chest. Dojima stared.  
  
Nanako laughed and punched Yu in the arm.  
  
“Oh my god, bro, you can’t just _ ask _ people if they’re Phantom Thieves!”  
  
Dojima sighed and shook his head. “Sheesh. You guys believe everything you see on TV?”  
  
“I’m kidding,” Yu smiled. “They’re from Yasogami High. I met them through the… alumni program.”  
  
“Y-Yeah,” Ann chimed in. “We came by to visit. We weren’t sure we had the right address…”  
  
“I invited them over for dinner,” Yu said. “Is that okay with you?”  
  
“Well, I wish you would’ve asked me sooner,” Dojima shrugged. “But yeah, sure. Make yourselves at home.”  
  
“Alright,” Yu said. “You guys can hang out in the living room. I’m gonna get cooking.”  
  
The Dojima family went inside, leaving a stunned quartet out on the front steps. They exchanged wordless looks, each one of them staring at Akira with a look that said ‘what the hell did you get us into?’ and Akira’s eyes, hidden by the glare of his glasses, unable to respond.  
  
“So, uh,” Akira muttered. “...Who’s… hungry…?”  
  
A pause. Ryuji cleared his throat.  
  
“I, uh. I could eat.”  
  
The four of them chuckled and ventured inside.  
  
From its perch above the door, a white butterfly flitted away.  
  
~*~


End file.
